The Bruce Hamilton Award is given annually to recognize an individual who has displayed outstanding integrity in the sport of harness racing and who has also taken the time to give back to both the sport and their community in the State of New York.
This year, the Harness Horse Breeders of New York State have proudly announced that Katherine Starr has been named the ninth recipient of this prestigious accolade. For over a decade, her daily efforts have exemplified all the merits this award espouses while working towards a singular goal: to find homes for our retired Standardbreds.
Starr had been working a regular day job before deciding it was not for her. She wanted to be around horses and make that her life’s work. She went back to school and graduated from SUNY Morrisville with a degree in Horse Sciences in 1985. Starr then proceeded to race her own stable of Standardbreds at Pocono Downs from 1991 to 1993.
After a seven-year departure from the horse business due to a series of life events, Starr was once again reunited with her passion as she started to work with the Harness Horse Retirement and Youth Association in 2000 as their central New York placement coordinator. Her experiences rehabbing and placing horses there was the springboard to her next endeavour.
Katherine Starr started Sunshine Horses in Syracuse, NY in 2003. It is a not-for-profit rescue facility and placement agency with a mission to take in horses that can no longer race for whatever reason, and find them a ‘forever home’ where they could be loved and cared for. Starr has long been troubled by the fate of too many former track stars and wanted to do what she could to change as many of their endings to happy ones.
After coming to Sunshine Horses, some of the horses are broke to saddle and others are used to pull light carts or carriages. Whatever the horse shows the ability for is what they are reeducated to do so they can excel in their new careers after racing and make them more desirable to a potential adopter.
Sunshine Horses also works with youth and adult community volunteer organizations in the Syracuse area and utilizes the strengths that each of those individuals bring to the stable. Over 150 dedicated volunteers commit hours of their time caring for the horses; some with challenges of their own. And at the end of the experience, come away with a love of the animals that enhances their own lives.
Since its inception, Sunshine Horses has retrained more than 150 horses and moved them to caring new owners who have provided solid retirement homes. So far in 2015, 20 horses have been placed. Although the majority of horses there are Standardbreds, Sunshine works with all breeds.
Twelve years into the project, Katherine Starr has changed the lives of many. Over 150 horses that may have met a very different fate had it not been for her efforts, are now securely placed and reaping the benefits of their years of hard work. And hundreds of people, who may have otherwise never experienced the bond that can be made with a horse, now have an appreciation and love for these noble beasts.
Starr will be presented the Bruce Hamilton Memorial Medal during the New York Sire Stakes and USTA District 8 awards dinner at Batavia Downs Hotel and Casino on November 15. For reservations or more information, contact the Harness Horse Breeders at 518-785-5858 or [email protected]
(HHBNYS)